


when the city sleeps, I'm awake (caught up in the dreams I can't create)

by ladyofthesun



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Kim has a white girl order, Trimberly Week, Trini gives her a different name every day, but she's not white, ish, teen rating is because of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 06:23:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15137066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofthesun/pseuds/ladyofthesun
Summary: On her first day at the college, she knew exactly where to go to grab her morning cup of coffee, Topped Off was always guaranteed to calm her down.Or at least that’s what she thought.What wasn’t guaranteed was Kim walking in through the door only to find the prettiest girl she had ever seen standing behind the counter.If only the girl would actually get her name right.Trimberly Week - Day 1





	when the city sleeps, I'm awake (caught up in the dreams I can't create)

The coffee shop near the University of Angel Grove had always been Kimberly Hart’s saving grace, even before she got into the actual college.

She had been coming here for years with her old cheerleading squad, before she had been, for lack of more fitting words, shunned by them all. Through all her high school drama, however, she had this coffee shop, by no means small but once inside it felt as though the rest of the world was blocked away. She could walk in with either her schoolwork, her laptop, or even just a nice book and order her usual, taking full advantage of the free bells and whistles they offered, she had used to come in with a gaggle of white female teenagers after all. She would sit in the corner near the window, though the sounds of the city would always seem drowned out, part of another world, and before long she found herself still in the same spot, at least 4 refills and 2 hours later.

So, on her first day at the college, she knew exactly where to go to grab her morning cup of coffee, Topped Off was always guaranteed to calm her down.

Or at least that’s what she thought.

What wasn’t guaranteed was Kim walking in through the door only to find the prettiest girl she had ever seen standing behind the counter. Her hair looked extremely soft, half of it pulled back into braids, which Kim at first mistook for an undercut, the other half was swept over her shoulder, the mix of brown and honey reminding her of the sunlight in the fall weather outside. She was slightly pouting as a barista that Kim did recognise talked her through how to work the coffee machine and Kim couldn’t help but spend a few seconds staring at her lips, but then Ole, the manager, looked up and saw her.

“Oh, hi Kim!” she smiled brightly, before looking down at the new girl, “Umm, maybe I should take this order…”

“No way, you promised that I could do the next person that walks in, and that is this person here.” Kim finally managed to read the new girl’s name tag, letting her address the short barista directly.

“I’d be happy to let Trini do me,” a smile grew on her face as Ole rolled her eyes, gesturing with her hand in a way that clearly told Trini to go ahead.

“So what’ll it be?” Trini pushed her hair behind her ear before resting a hand on top of the touchscreen till.

“Could I get a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte?” Trini nodded as she tapped the screen and started to move before Kim continued, “And then a shot of maple pecan, with 5 shots of pumpkin sauce, with almond milk,” Trini kept nodding as she slightly raised her eyebrows, “a light caramel drizzle, light foam, autumn sugar topping, with a light whip and that’s it. To go, thank you.” Kim watched as Trini licked her bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth, trying to stop her grin.

“And that’s it,” Trini pressed the screen a couple more times and smiled up at Kim before grabbing a plastic cup and sticking the newly printed label onto it. Kim watched her moving gracefully from one place to the other, almost missing her question, “And the name is?”

“What? Oh, umm it’s Kimberly.”

“Got it, and that’ll be $5.25, thank you.”

Kim put her change in the tip jar before losing any smooth talking ability she had possessed when she came in, “Well, uh, I’ll just be, umm, over there,” she gestured to the designated waiting area and, at Trini’s nod, made her way over, pulling out her phone as a way to pass the time as her drink was made. Of course, she spent more time glancing up at the short barista than she had actually looking at her phone screen.

Just under 5 minutes later, her drink was done and Trini handed it to Ole to check over as she moved onto the next customer that had just walked in. Kim was right to come in as early as she did, years of experience telling her that the morning rush got very busy.

Perhaps she could blame the growing number of people inside the coffee shop for making her miss out her order being read, but she knew that the real reason was her watching Trini, the girl seemed to be in her element. Nevertheless, after a few seconds, she knew that the longer than usual order being read out had to be hers, and wandered over to the pickup counter, seeing another girl who had been a regular barista for a couple years.

“Of course this is your order Kimberly Hart,” Shay said, shaking her head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kim tried to act offended, fully aware of her long orders, she had gotten used to the way her cheerleader friends used to order, and all the extras were free in Topped Off.

“Have a nice day at college, Katherine.” Shay winked at her, before letting out a soft chuckle before moving over to the till to help Trini with the developing crowd of customers. Kim was confused until she looked down at the plastic cup to see the wrong name, though she was sure that she had been pretty clear when Trini asked her.

Nonetheless, it was her order and as Kim took a tentative sip she was pleasantly surprised to find that Trini had got the drink perfect, it took most a few tries to get it right.

Kim knew that this girl would be trouble for her.

 

* * *

  

Kim’s first day at college had gone great, even if she had been a little distracted by thoughts of the brunette barista, and she was sure that it was because of the great morning she had had. This led to her developing a routine, every day she had a class she would find herself in the coffee shop before it, hoping to see Trini again.

She found the girl in the first few days of the week, but on days that she had afternoon classes Trini was nowhere to be seen, other baristas and waitresses replacing the group her and Shay were a part of. Kim found herself waking up earlier on the days she had afternoon classes, for the sole reason of seeing Trini in the mornings.

Though Kimberly Hart wasn’t a morning person in any sense of the word, resulting in her love of coffee, seeing Trini’s smile get wider and wider every day as she picked up her order with a different variation of a similar sounding name printed on it, and Kim used the term similar very loosely.

Kim also started adding more and more extras to each order, trying to find a way to talk to Trini more, even in the form of mockery, but Trini stayed professional the entire time, meaning Shay teased Kim, even more, to make up for it.

After a couple of weeks, Kim decided to study in the coffee shop, instead of spending 15 minutes in the shop and then leave with a to-go cup. She brought her laptop in and spent about two-thirds of the time she had devoted to studying watching as Trini went about her daily tasks. Every so often their eyes would catch and Kim would snap her gaze away, blush beginning to colour her cheeks.

Shay called out “Kayley” just as Kim had set out all her work, which seemed very productive, so she took a little break as she collected her drink, deciding to look at the selection of baked goods in the display case.

“I made the donuts this time!” Kim instantly recognised the voice, despite having only heard a few words from it before, she looks up from the assortment of food inside the display case to find Trini slightly grinning at her. “Shay tried to help the last few times but we never really got it right until Lauren came in and actually taught us today. I think they turned out pretty good!”

“I guess I should try one then!” Trini’s smile got wider at Kim’s enthusiasm, “which ones did you make?”

“All the ones with coloured frosting, they’re a dollar fifty each,” Kim pointed to a pink one with a few yellow stars sprinkled on it and took the small plate in one hand, her elaborate latte in the other, back to her table. It definitely wasn’t the best donut she had ever tasted, but Trini’s smile made it taste much sweeter.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks after she introduced Trini’s donuts into her daily routine, Zack decided to follow her into her coffee shop, wondering why she seemed obsessed with it.

At first, Kim was apprehensive about inviting Zack into her space, she didn’t want to repeat the ordeal that had happened after Amanda and the other cheerleaders cut her off, causing their coffee shop interactions to be extremely awkward. She had basically had a sit-in the first time she saw her old friends, sitting down at their old table, the best one in the shop, and refusing to move, spreading her work so that there was no way they could sit down and try to overpower her. After doing this a number of times, the cheerleaders stopped coming, but Kim wasn’t sure she could do it again, not with Zack.

Of course, Zack was different from her old friends, he was a lot less bitchy for one, and though he had his moments, he wasn’t a total dick, and he wouldn’t invade Kim’s space if they had a fallout. Besides, Kim can’t think of anything that they would fall out over anything badly enough to warrant the same reaction.

So Kim finds herself with Zack at her usual table, they spread out their work, both of them sharing classes even though they’re aiming for different fields of medicine. Once everything is laid out, Kim stands up, much to the confusion of Zack, “We just got everything out, where are you going?”

“Umm, I’m having a break and ordering my coffee?” She tells him, as though it was obvious, which, to her, it had been, “You want anything?”

He rolls his eyes and sighs, before nodding and standing up, walking towards Shay at the counter, Kim following behind him. Shay looks up from her phone once she hears them walking over, clear in the empty shop, already starting her well-rehearsed greeting, “Welcome to Topped Off, where we promise to top yo- Oh Kim! Hi! You know, it’s funny I just remembered that I have something to do in… the back! Yes, the back, I have a job to do… back there, Trini will take care of you!” She pulls Trini away from the coffee machine before moving to the small back room.

“Ummm, sorry about that, what’ll it be?” Trini smiles up at Kim, who seems frozen for a few seconds, prompting Zack to order first.

“While Kim catches all the flies she can, I’ll have a grande vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso please?” Zack smiles down at Trini, resting his elbows on the counter, “And it’s Zack, thanks.” Trini prints out the sticker and sticks it on a grande sized cup, telling Zack the price before looking over to Kim.

“Did you do something with your hair?” Kim asks, even though she knows fully well that Trini’s highlights have been toned down, she noticed as soon as she laid her eyes on the shorter girl, having admired her hair every day for months now.

“Yeah, I changed the colouring a bit, my cousin’s a hair and beauty student and needed a test subject,” Trini tucked her hair behind her ear, slightly self-conscious.

“It looks great! Not that your hair didn’t look amazing anyway, but this looks more natural, it suits you.” Kim said a smile on her face as she admired her crush, who’s cheeks blushed slightly at the statement.

“Thanks, so um… what will it be today?”

“Let’s go back to the Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte, a shot of maple pecan, a shot of espresso, and 5 shots of pumpkin sauce, 50/ 50 almond and soy milk, light caramel drizzle, light cinnamon dolce syrup, light foam, add a salt topping, an autumn sugar topping, with extra vanilla powder, extra pumpkin topping, and a light whip with a dash of matcha powder, and in a to-go cup, thank you,” Trini responded to Kim’s elaborate order with ease as Zacks' eyes widened comically at the large order.

“Can you even taste the coffee in that abomination of a drink?” Zack asked as Kim paid, putting the change in the tip jar as usual.

“Shut up Zack, it tastes fine.”

“How can you-” Zack is cut off by Trini holding the large cup, pen in her other hand and a smirk on her face.

“Name?” Kim narrows her eyes slightly, wary of what name Trini would give her today.

“It’s Kim,” she thought it was a simple name, easy to spell, and she said it as clearly as possible, but she knows that Zack would tease her for weeks if he knew of their little game.

“Got it, ready in 5.” Shay came back from whatever job she had excused herself to do.

“I’ll do Zack,” Shay said from behind Trini, grabbing his cup while giving him a wink, “You start Kim’s order.”

Trini rolled her eyes, before turning to Kim, “Anything else?” Kim smiled and pointed at the donuts, as she did every day to ask which ones Trini had made.

“I’ll take two of those, one strawberry and the other…?” she looked at Zack, prompting him to choose one for himself, “On me, pick one,” Zack shrugged, not about to deny free food, and pointed out a ring donut with a dark chocolate coat.

“I’ll bring them out with your drinks,” Trini tells them after taking Kim’s money, Zack smiles at her and pulls Kim away by the arm.

“Come on, we have Biology to do, you can flirt later.” Kim’s head snapped around to look at Zack with wide eyes.

“I wasn’t flirting!” she hisses quietly, looking back over her shoulder to check that Trini hadn’t heard, the short barista was already making Kim’s drink, the sound of the coffee machine hopefully drowning out Kim and Zack’s conversation.

“Kim, I may not have known you for that long, but that was blatant flirting. Don’t worry, she was flirting with you too, it was obvious, even the other barista knows it, why do you think she ran off so suddenly?”

“She had a job to do in the back, she told us.”

“Kim, she was about to take our order, until she realised it was you. Do you need the girl to write ‘Kim date me please?’ on her forehead for you to get it?”

They reached their table and Kim rolled her eyes, “Shut up Zack, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

They study in silence for a short amount of time, exchanging notes with each other as a few people come in and out of the door, the amount of sound within the coffee shop staying as a quiet background noise. Zack doesn’t comment on Kim’s apparently obvious crush until Shay brings out the drinks, handing Zack his and then turning to Kim, a large smile on her face.

“What is it this time?” Kim asked, sighing in resignation.

Shay says nothing, handing her the large plastic cup before putting the donuts on the table, and moving away. Zack turns the cup quickly, looking for whatever put that look on both the girls’ faces.

Kim, having already seen the name, looked up at the counter, Trini smirking at her as she cleans the coffee filters. Kim shakes her head slightly, before looking at Zack who has started laughing, already taking out his phone in order to take a picture, both of Kim’s extremely large coffee order and the name written on the label.

“You come in every day, how the fuck did she get ‘Bob’?”

 

* * *

 

The next day, Kim walks into Topped Off with a plan in her mind. Zack had teased her thoroughly ever since he came in with her yesterday, and Kim had spotted more and more signs that her feelings were reciprocated.

She had to do something before she went out of her mind.

Her coffee order became much smaller than the last time, though still probably too long. Trini was still standing there, hands poised above the screen, waiting for the rest, surprise coloured her face once Kim told her that that was it.

“Got it, name?” Trini smiled again, looking up at Kim, probably with a name already in her head.

But Kim had different plans, she was getting her crush to go out with her, and if their relationship progressed, Trini would probably have to know Kim’s name.

“You know, why don’t you just give me your phone? That way, when I text you about our date later, you’ll get my name right?”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Hayley Kiyoko's Mercy/Gatekeeper
> 
> I'm @powerrangershumour on tumblr come say hi


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